Reading

Growing up I was fortunate enough to have two mentors who picked me up and deposited me onto the road of imagination. They opened my eyes to the magic of reading and planted the seed, which eventually grew into the desire to put my own thoughts and dreams onto a blank page.

The first of these mentors was my mother. When I completed first grade I had done well enough in every subject but reading. Reading was my Mount Everest an obstacle that had proved daunting in my initial attempt requiring my return to base camp. The summer after first grade was the worst but most rewarding of my life. Every morning my mother sat me down for four to five hours and drilled me on phonics lesson after phonics lesson. I would cry, scream, beg and complain but her commitment to teaching me never wavered. She patiently sat with me day after day, drying my tears, calming my nerves and planting the seeds. Amazingly, half way through that summer something clicked, the seeds blossomed and began to bear fruit. My rebellion ceased and I began to enjoy the lessons and became eager to apply them to my every day world. We moved on from phonics, to Dick and Jane, to Dr. Seuss and beyond. By the end of that summer I could be found at the breakfast table with the local paper checking the standings to see how my beloved Dodger's were doing.

Thanks Mom.

I never new the name of my second mentor, if I did I have since forgotten it. She was a librarian at Live Oak Library in Arcadia, California. This was the library of my childhood. I spent many hours browsing the stacks in search of new adventures, new friends, and new lands to lose myself in. By the time I reached the fifth grade I had read all of the books in the children's section and my wandering eyes began to drift towards the adult section. One day the above-mentioned librarian discovered me browsing and promptly walked me back to the children's section. Upon my next visit I headed right back to the adult section. The same librarian discovered me but this time she sat down and asked me what was wrong with the children's section. I explained to her that I had read all of those books and that I needed something new to read. At first she did not believe me and she went and checked the cards. To her surprise she found that I had indeed read most if not all of the age appropriate books. So she made a deal with me. She said if I allowed her to help me pick out books that I could read all of the adult books I wanted. She smiled at me and we shook on it.

Thanks to librarians everywhere.